Staff layoffs at Oxford Frozen Foods UPDATED

Carolyn Cooper

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Oxford, N.S. – Oxford Frozen Foods has said it has been forced to temporarily layoff approximately 160 employees at its Nova Scotia food processing plant due to a delay in an expected shipment of onions.

The onions, which are made into frozen onion rings, come from Ontario, Ore. They are routinely shipped through Union Pacific, and then transferred to CN at a yard near Chicago, Ill.

According to Corey Sigut, the general manager of appetizer production for Oxford, the company has recently been experienced delays in the transfer of onions from Union Pacific railway cars to CN. However, the Canadian Press reports that a CN spokesperson says the railway is ready to accept the shipment at its Illinois yard.

Sigut says the situation has been frustrating, with neither railroad company yet offering a solution.

UPDATE: On Nov. 22, the day after Oxford Frozen Foods announced its planned layoffs, CN reported it will ship a railway car filled with onions to the frozen food processor’s facility in Nova Scotia. Three other cars stocked with onions are also expected to be shipped in the near future. Normal production will begin at the plant once the shipments are received, although general manager Corey Sigut says that will likely take several days.